Disabled viewers are not singing a happy tune when it comes to Glee's Nov. 11 episode, "Wheels."

A scene in the FOX ensemble song-and-dance series airing Wednesday where the cast performs "Proud Mary" in wheelchairs to support their paraplegic pal, Artie (Kevin McHale), deprives a disabled actor a shot at stardom, says CSI cast member Robert David Hall.

"I think there's a fear of litigation, that a person with disabilities might slow a production down, fear that viewers might be uncomfortable," the actor, 61, told USA Today.

Which other fall TV series has been criticized for its content? Find out here!

But that's a misconception.

"I've made my living as an actor for 30 years and I walk on two artificial legs," Hall, who chairs a multi-union committee for performers with disabilities, says.

The cast of Glee tells Usmagazine.com what else in in store this season in an exclusive video interview.

Producers for Glee, which focuses on the plight of an underdog high school glee club, say they pride themselves on having assembled a diverse cast, which includes McHale.

"We brought in anyone: white, black, Asian, in a wheelchair," executive producer Brad Falchuk said. "It was very hard to find people who could really sing, really act, and have that charisma you need on TV."

And while Falchuck sympathizes with those in the disabled community, he says McHale, 21, who plays Artie, is the perfect fit for the role. "It's hard to say no to someone that talented," Falchuk said.

Disabled viewers are not singing a happy tune when it comes to Glee's Nov. 11 episode, "Wheels."

A scene in the FOX ensemble song-and-dance series airing Wednesday where the cast performs "Proud Mary" in wheelchairs to support their paraplegic pal, Artie (Kevin McHale), deprives a disabled actor a shot at stardom, says CSI cast member Robert David Hall.

"I think there's a fear of litigation, that a person with disabilities might slow a production down, fear that viewers might be uncomfortable," the actor, 61, told USA Today.

Which other fall TV series has been criticized for its content? Find out here!

But that's a misconception.

"I've made my living as an actor for 30 years and I walk on two artificial legs," Hall, who chairs a multi-union committee for performers with disabilities, says.

The cast of Glee tells Usmagazine.com what else in in store this season in an exclusive video interview.

Producers for Glee, which focuses on the plight of an underdog high school glee club, say they pride themselves on having assembled a diverse cast, which includes McHale.

"We brought in anyone: white, black, Asian, in a wheelchair," executive producer Brad Falchuk said. "It was very hard to find people who could really sing, really act, and have that charisma you need on TV."

And while Falchuck sympathizes with those in the disabled community, he says McHale, 21, who plays Artie, is the perfect fit for the role. "It's hard to say no to someone that talented," Falchuk said.

What they're saying is they would rather an actor who is actually in a wheelchair play the role instead of Kevin McHale, who is not disabled. I can see where they are coming from, but I also love Kevin in the role and can't really see anyone else playing the part.

I remember in college we were doing a Luis Valdez play and the guy directing it was doing his thesis on him, VERY into his work... He advertised all over campus for auditions.

In the end, two people of the fifty or so that showed up for auditions were of Mexican origin. He cast his play (One of the Mexican Americans made cast, the other was extremely wooden and did not) and yes, the majority of the people cast were NOT Mexican (Including myself)

There were protests and we were compared to artists using blackface (Even though we deliberately didn't use any sort of makeup to darken our skin; my character was a farm worker so we did some makeup to make my skin look leathery and sun distressed, but that was the all of it) Someone wrote a long, insulting writeup about how Nathan 'should have made an effort to cast Mexicans' And a year later I had some asshole verbally attack me when he recognized me on campus 'insulting his culture.'

So yeah. While I think ideally someone with the disability presented WOULD play that role, sometimes that ideal actor or actress who can represent that demographic AND still do the job isn't *there* Who knows if anyone else who auditioned, in a wheel chair or not, can sing or play that character like that boy can.

If they deliberately cut actually disabled people from auditioning, I could see people getting up in arms, but they are obviously not afraid to cast disabled people as there were two downs syndrome actresses on the show last night.

----------------------------There will be times you might leap before you look There'll be times you'll like the cover and that's precisely why you'll love the book Do it anyway

What they're saying is they would rather an actor who is actually in a wheelchair play the role instead of Kevin McHale, who is not disabled. I can see where they are coming from, but I also love Kevin in the role and can't really see anyone else playing the part.

OK -- I totally misread that. Thanks for clearing it up. That's why I didn't get the article!

I never expected Sue to make me cry, ever. Laugh hysterically, yes, but not shed any tears. It was a really touching moment, and it was done really well. It's one of the many reasons I love Jane Lynch. She was excellent in the episode (as always). I hope we get to see more of both her sister and her training the new cheerleader.